


Broken

by pcyjunguwudays



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Appendicitis, Fights, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, Other, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:28:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pcyjunguwudays/pseuds/pcyjunguwudays
Summary: “LEE DONGHYUCK!” Jaehyun roared, slamming open the door to the practice room and startling Taeyong and Taeil to their feet. Taeyong’s eyes met Donghyuck’s, who looked just as confused as everybody else in the room as he stood up with Johnny right by his side, a hand still pressed to his stomach. Without warning, Jaehyun stormed across the room, skirting around Yuta and Doyoung who both tried to stop him, and threw his fist straight into Donghyuck’s face.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 121





	Broken

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally here! I've been working on this for about three weeks and I'm SO HAPPY it's finally done! I've been so excited to get this one out, so I hope you all enjoy it!!!

Donghyuck winced as he left the dorm that morning, pressing a hand to his side. His stomach had been hurting all week, and nothing he did seemed to relieve the pain. But he didn’t want to make his hyungs worry, especially Taeyong. Taeyong was super stressed, and Donghyuck knew he would panic if he showed that he was hurting. So he bit his lip and kept it to himself, though he was unsure how much longer he could hide it; it seemed to be getting worse today, and he didn’t know what he was going to do. 

Practice was uneventful. They danced through a number of songs, and Donghyuck bit back every jolt he felt from dancing, breathing shallowly through his nose so he didn’t let out a noise of agony. The longer it went on though, the worse he felt, and he considered asking to sit out when Jaehyun’s phone rang for the third time. Donghyuck couldn’t help sagging in relief; they ignored it until the end of the song, but the moment it was done, Taeyong called a break, glancing questioningly over at Jaehyun. 

“Go have a break, guys.” They dispersed, and Jaehyun headed straight to his phone. Donghyuck watched him go, smirking knowingly at his hyung and waggling his eyebrows. Jaehyun flipped him off in response, though he grinned as he put the phone to his ear and left the room to take the call. 

Donghyuck’s grimace as he lay down on the floor next to Johnny and Jungwoo didn’t go unnoticed by the hyungs. He put a hand on his stomach as Jungwoo passed him a water bottle, and he drank deeply, his face contorting with pain. “Hyuckie, what’s wrong?” Jungwoo asked, frowning at Donghyuck. He put a hand on Donghyuck’s forehead, making sure he wasn’t burning up.

“I’m ok, I promise,” Donghyuck smiled, then winced as another sharp pain hit him, and he groaned, the smile sliding off his face. 

“Are you sure? You look like you’re in pain, you haven’t hurt yourself, have you?” Johnny joined in as he wiped water droplets from his chin. “Because if you did, don’t hide it, it’s better to get it checked out early.”

“I promise I didn’t hurt myself, I’m good,” Donghyuck told him more firmly, but neither of the hyungs looked convinced. Donghyuck sat up, trying and failing to ignore the cramp that shot through him. He fell backwards, and Jungwoo caught him just in time. 

“Haechan, now. Tell us what’s hurting,” Johnny ordered. “Don’t think I didn’t see you holding your stomach this morning too.” Donghyuck sighed, knowing Johnny was right. 

“I just-” 

“LEE DONGHYUCK!” Jaehyun roared, slamming open the door to the practice room and startling Taeyong and Taeil to their feet. Taeyong’s eyes met Donghyuck’s, who looked just as confused as everybody else in the room as he stood up with Johnny right by his side, a hand still pressed to his stomach. Without warning, Jaehyun stormed across the room, skirting around Yuta and Doyoung who both tried to stop him, and threw his fist straight into Donghyuck’s face.

“Hey!” Instantly they all reacted. Donghyuck fell straight back into Jungwoo, stunned tears brimming in his eyes as he brought trembling hands to his face. Johnny and Yuta threw themselves at Jaehyun, forcing him away from Donghyuck in case he tried to go for a second hit. Jaehyun’s face was red, and he was breathing hard, anger coursing through his body. He yanked his arm away from the two of them and moved forward again, but Mark stepped into his path, shoving at his chest.

“Dude, what the fuck?! What the hell was all that about?” Mark yelled at him, furious.

“Let go!” Jaehyun snarled, throwing Yuta’s arm off his bicep again and raising his arm at Mark as if he was going to punch him, too. Mark flinched, hurt flashing across his face, and Taeyong pulled him backwards, putting himself in between Mark and Jaehyun. 

“Calm down,” he warned icily, forming a barrier between Jaehyun and Mark, Donghyuck and Jungwoo. “What the hell has gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Jaehyun spat at Taeyong, gesturing over his head at Donghyuck, who was holding Doyoung's abandoned sweatshirt to his nose in lieu of tissue. Doyoung turned to glare at Jaehyun furiously, a hand holding the bunched up material to Donghyuck’s face as Jungwoo wiped away his tears. 

“Hyuck is in no condition to speak right now, thanks to you.” His voice had never sounded colder. “So why don’t you answer Taeyong hyung’s question and tell us all what the hell is going on?!”

“This is all your fault, Donghyuck,” Jaehyun hissed, turning his head away, his nostrils flaring. Donghyuck whimpered a little, moving to stand up and try and speak, but Taeil shook his head, putting a hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder and motioned for him to sit still.

“You should have told me!” the door slammed open again to admit their lead manager, Yoojin, cutting off the conversation. He hurried forward, inserting himself in between Taeyong and Jaehyun. Taeyong reluctantly moved away, his arms folded as he glared at Jaehyun over the manager’s shoulder. “I am your manager, do you hear me? Everything you do  _ must _ go through me!”

“Yes, sir.” Jaehyun swallowed visibly but didn’t back down. Donghyuck stood up from behind them, his nose still flowing with blood, but he let it drip, focusing on the scenes in front of him. 

“How long have you been dating Yeri?”

“Two months.” Jaehyun kept his eyes firmly on Yoojin’s face, ignoring the shocked and incredulous glances everyone else was throwing him. Yuta and Johnny had let him go, the presence of the manager being enough to control everyone.

“Two months? And we find out now? Not only that, but through a fucking news outlet?” Yoojin shook his head in frustration. 

Taeyong turned to look at Donghyuck, who didn’t seem shocked at all, and in an instant, everything seemed to click into place. “Hyuck, was it you? Who did you tell?”

Donghyuck turned to Taeyong, his lips quivering, but before he could say something, Yoojin stormed over and slapped Donghyuck. Donghyuck’s head snapped to the side, a second bruise forming on his face. He slowly turned, staring at the manager. “Hyung!” Taeil gasped, shocked beyond belief. Although Donghyuck was playful, he was never disrespectful, especially not to his elders. To make matters worse, the managers had never hit them before, and now, Donghyuck’s entire face was bright red, his nose still trickling from the punch Jaehyun had delivered, and his cheek bruising nastily in the shape of Yoojin’s hand.

“Were you not even going to wait for me to answer before you hit me?” Donghyuck asked quietly. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it somehow seemed to echo off the walls. He looked around to see all of the members staring at him, their expressions unreadable. Jaehyun still looked furious, but to Donghyuck, everybody else seemed to accuse him of snitching. Yoojin himself seemed stunned at his own actions, and he was unable to answer Donghyuck’s question. “Well? Are you going to hit me again to make me ‘confess’?” Donghyuck sneered, anger suddenly taking over his face.

“You were the only one who knew.” A nerve twitched in Jaehyun’s temple, and Donghyuck gave a mirthless, cold laugh which seemed completely unnatural compared to his personality.

“I know I’m a lot of things,  _ hyung _ , but what I am not is a liar, nor am I a snitch. I didn’t tell anyone.” 

“Even that’s a lie.”

“Go to hell!”

Without waiting for a response, Donghyuck threw down Doyoung’s sweatshirt and stormed out of the room, shoving past Yuta who tried to stop him and slamming the door shut behind him. 

“Hyuck!” Mark called, getting up to follow, but Yoojin turned, throwing out his arm. For the second time, Mark flinched and came to a halt. 

“Leave the boy,” he growled. “If he still can’t admit to what he’s done, then maybe he’s not as grown-up and mature as I thought he was.” Mark swallowed hard but said nothing, stepping away from Yoojin and standing back. Yoojin turned to Jaehyun. “The publicity team will handle this, there’s nothing more that I can do now. I’m guessing Yeri’s angry?”

“She’s hysterical. She had to get Wendy and Irene noona to calm her down.”

“Well.” Yoojin sighed. “From now on, stay away from each other until this has been sorted out, do you hear me? Don’t contact her until I tell you.”

“Yes sir.” They all waited for Yoojin to leave the room. 

“Why would Donghyuck do that?” Doyoung was first to speak with a frown. 

“He wouldn't and he didn’t,” Mark responded instantly, glaring at Jaehyun and then Doyoung. Jaehyun was still angry, and he’d stalked off to sit in the corner, though Mark had spoken loud enough to make sure Jaehyun heard him. 

“I agree. That’s not Haechan at all, he didn’t even tell us, so why would he go and sell Jaehyun out to the newspapers?” Yuta nodded. “It wasn’t him.”

“And he would’ve just taken the slap too if it was him,” Jungwoo added, a hand on his cheek, mirroring the place Donghyuck had been hit. “Oh God...I can’t believe Yoojin hyung hit him…”

“I’m going to find him.” Mark rushed off, a pained expression on his face, and the door slammed shut for the fourth time that day. 

“Ok, but Jae wouldn't have hit him if he wasn’t sure, either,” Taeil pointed out quietly. “Jaehyun wouldn't be so angry either if he wasn’t sure.”

“Can we not talk about it right now?” Jaehyun snapped, coming back to join the circle. “From now on, don’t expect me to interact with him. We practice together and that’s it!”

Taeyong cleared his throat. “Guys can we just...drop it for now? We need to practice. Let everyone cool down, we can discuss this later. And please,” he added, glancing at Taeil and Doyoung, “let’s not play the blame game. Come on.”

*****

Donghyuck splashed water on himself for the third time, wincing at the sting of the cool liquid on his burning skin, and glared at himself in the mirror. The blood flow had stopped from his nose, but it was still tender to the touch, and as he stared, he noticed that Jaehyun had managed to split his lip with the force of the blow, too. He was surprised that all his teeth were still in place. His stomach still hurt, and his cheek was burning; the longer he stared at it, the more prominent Yoojin’s handprint seemed to get. “Do I look like someone who would betray his brother like that?” he hissed at himself, gripping the edge of the sink so tightly his knuckles turned white. “Why won’t they believe me?” 

This wasn’t the first time there’d been fights within them, of course it wasn’t, but it had never, ever been so many people against one. Donghyuck couldn’t erase from his mind the accusatory looks that everyone had thrown him, from Jaehyun, who was angry, to Jungwoo, who looked shocked and confused. Not a single person standing there had believed him, not even sweet, gentle Taeyong, who had never involved himself in any conflict that the boys had had over the years. “I didn’t do it,” he hissed. “FUCK!”

He turned away, slamming his fist against the ceramic bowl of the sink. It hurt, and he regretted it the moment he’d done it, tears springing to his eyes. He closed them, unwilling to let himself cry again, and his mind flashed back to how he’d found out about Jaehyun and Yeri two weeks ago.

_ He’d just gotten back from a schedule with Jeno and Renjun, and he was heading up to grab his water bottle, which he’d forgotten earlier in the day. He’d been sharing Jeno’s water all day, but he was still thirsty, and Taeyong would have his head if he forgot to bring his own bottle home. He pushed open the door to the practice room and flicked on the lights just in time to see the two of them spring apart. Yeri squeaked and stood up quickly, panic flaring in her eyes, while Jaehyun’s face turned bright red. Donghyuck just stood in the doorway, staring at them, not knowing what to say. He finally settled on an “oooooh, Jaehyun hyung and Yeri, sitting in a tree-” _

_ “Shut up!” _

_ Donghyuck couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him as Jaehyun bounded across the room quicker than Donghyuck had ever seen him run to clap a hand across his mouth. Jaehyun glared at him, and Donghyuck licked his hand, forcing Jaehyun to let go with a disgusted look on his face. He wiped his hand on Donghyuck’s arm, frowning.  _

_ “Haechan, please don’t tell anyone,” Yeri begged, panic clearly visible across her face. “We were just-it’s not-I mean-” _

_ “I'm just teasing,” Donghyuck grinned, shaking his head. “But I get it. I won’t tell, I promise. You two do what you need to do.” _

_ “Hyuck!” Jaehyun complained, and Donghyuck laughed again. “Seriously though, Lee Haechan, if I hear a word of any of this from anyone that isn’t you, I’ll have your head for dinner. Nobody knows, ok?” _

_ “What a beautiful meal that would be!” Donghyuck shook his head. “I swear it. This isn’t my secret to tell. I won’t breathe a word to anyone, you can count on me. I know you’d do the same if it was me.” He stuck out his hand and Jaehyun took it, shaking it firmly with a dimpled smile. “Good. Now that that’s out of the way, you two haven’t seen my water bottle, have you? I forgot it when we went off to do our photoshoot earlier on...” _

He clenched his jaw as the memory washed over him, then took a deep breath. At the end of the day, he still had to work with them. He had a job to do, and nobody, not even Jaehyun, could get in his way of success. So he was going to put on a brave face and a fake smile and pretend like nothing was wrong. Because he was Lee Donghyuck, and he was going to be brave.

*****

Mark skidded to a halt just as the bathroom door opened to reveal Donghyuck. “Hyuck! There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Mark panted, bending down to catch his breath. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine. I’m going to practice.” Donghyuck didn’t wait for an answer before he walked away, leaving Mark trailing after him.

“Hey, hey, talk to me!” Mark exclaimed, but Donghyuck didn’t reply. “Hyuck, please, I just want to make sure that you’re ok, and to let you know that Jaehyun hyung-”

“Do  _ not _ mention his name in front of me again, do you hear me?” Donghyuck whirled around on the stairs, startling Mark backwards. This close to the younger boy, he could see the redness of his eyes and the bruises on his face, but most of all, the anger that made his whole body tremble. “I don’t want to hear it.” 

“But-”

“Just leave me alone!”

Donghyuck quickened his pace, and Mark had to jog to keep up as they went back to the practice room. Mark sighed, anger and despair flaring up inside him. This was all Jaehyun’s fault. How could he do this to Donghyuck? Because of him and his carelessness, not only was Donghyuck angry with them all, but the entire group’s reputation was about to take a hit, and their team was splintered, and this time, Mark didn’t see a way out of the mess. 

Donghyuck kept his head down as they entered, ignoring everyone’s eyes swivelling back to him. He quietly stood in the centre of the room in his position, and after a tense moment, Taeyong cleared his throat and ordered everyone back to practice. Donghyuck only looked up again once the music had started playing, staring into his own eyes in the mirror. He could see the looks everyone was throwing him, from accusatory and angry coming from most of the members, to concern from Mark and Yuta. Other than that, he had nobody, and he knew it. It was best to keep himself to himself. 

Practice was agony. Donghyuck hurt all over, and the pain in his side seemed to worsen the longer he moved. He felt sick, and his face was throbbing; he swore that he could feel his rattling around in his mouth as he danced. It was because of this pain that he fell, unable to stay upright any longer, collapsing to his knees in the middle of the song. Johnny managed to skirt around him, frowning in concern at the younger boy, but Taeil and Jungwoo couldn’t avoid him and tripped over, tumbling to the floor next to him as he held his head in his hands, willing the nausea to leave him. Someone went to turn the music off hurriedly, and he felt hands on his arms. 

“Hyuck, Hyuck, what happened? Are you ok? Can you get up?”

Donghyuck groaned in response. He felt too sick to speak, let alone stand, and he shook their arms off of him. “Please...leave me alone,” he whispered. 

“Why did he bother coming back?” Donghyuck heard someone mutter, and he knew without looking it was Jaehyun. “Now look what he’s done, he’s gone and hurt Taeil hyung and Jungwoo too.”

“Shut up,” someone else hissed, and he finally lifted his head to see Yuta glaring at Jaehyun. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Yes he did!” Jaehyun snapped back, and all of a sudden, the room exploded into a frenzy of arguments. Donghyuck looked around; everywhere he looked, his hyungs were having verbal battles with each other, shouting over the other to be heard. Jungwoo was massaging his ankle, grimacing in pain, but even he seemed to be yelling at Doyoung, who stood in front him with his arms folded across his chest. 

Whoever had been holding Donghyuck a moment ago had moved away, and in the chaos, Donghyuck knew he wouldn't be missed. He got to his feet unsteadily, forcefully swallowing down the nausea and the tears. His hyungs were fighting, and it was all his fault. He couldn’t stay there a moment longer; making his way to the door, Donghyuck turned and left.

*****

Jisung panted with exhaustion as he finished dancing through the song once again. He had gotten permission to create a dance video, and he’d decided to come and work on some choreography. Jaemin had promised to meet him later on in the evening to help him film and record the dance, but until then, he’d decided to make good use of his day off.

He took a swig of water before he turned on the music once more, but he'd barely started dancing before the door slammed open and Donghyuck rushed in.

Jisung turned in surprise, his music still playing, but Donghyuck didn't seem to have noticed. He was trembling, his eyes glazed over, and as Jisung stepped closer to his hyung, he was shocked to see that his face was swollen, a clear handprint on one side of his jaw, and his lip split nastily, dried blood crusted over the wound. 

Donghyuck gasped for breath, and it took Jisung only a second to realise that he was having a panic attack. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "Hyung?"

Donghyuck just gasped back at him, clawing at his throat, then the door, then the wall, looking for a purchase. He couldn't help it; the air seemed to have forced itself out of his lungs and was refusing to come back. He tried to take a breath, but his chest was tight and everything  _ hurt _ so badly. It felt like there was a rope wrapped around his throat, getting pulled tighter and tighter the more he tried to breathe, preventing the oxygen from getting to his lungs. The thoughts wouldn't stop running through his mind, and he felt awful for yelling at Mark, angry at Jaehyun and Yoojin hyung and everyone else, disgusted that he had hurt Jungwoo, horrified that the group was falling apart, and it was all his fault. Now nothing would ever be the same again.

"Haechan hyung? What’s happening?” 

The music that had been blaring through the room had shut off, and now Donghyuck was in Jisung's arms sobbing quietly. Donghyuck flinched, suddenly aware of Jisung’s presence, but he said nothing as the younger boy pulled his hyung down to the floor. Jisung hugged him tightly, gently running his hands up and down Donghyuck’s back to try and get him calm enough to breathe. Donghyuck clung to Jisung’s leg and bawled, his breath stuttering out of him in short spurts as he tried desperately to force the air back into his lungs.

Jisung simply sat there, panicking inwardly himself as he felt Donghyuck’s body shaking with the effort to breathe, but he said nothing, only providing the stable support his hyung so obviously needed right now. The only thing he knew to do was to let Donghyuck cry, knowing that eventually he’d relax enough to breathe by himself, so he continued to pat a gentle, steady rhythm on Donghyuck’s back, staring at the bruises on Donghyuck’s face which, up close, looked worse than ever. Eventually, Donghyuck’s breathing aligned itself with the rhythm, enough so that he was no longer hyperventilating. His body seemed to grow heavier in Jisung’s arms, and the younger boy realised his hyung had exhausted himself. Looking down, he saw Donghyuck’s wet eyelashes fluttering with the effort to stay awake, but after the half-hour long breakdown he’d just had, not to mention the unknown amount of time he’d been practicing, Jisung wasn’t surprised that Donghyuck had fallen asleep.

He waited a little longer to make sure that Donghyuck really was asleep before he reached into his pocket and removed his phone. Something bad had happened, something really bad, especially with the way Donghyuck had broken down. Now that his hyung was asleep, Jisung could admit to himself that he was scared. Never in his life had he seen someone cry like that, made especially worse by the fact that Donghyuck wasn’t a crier. 

He had to call someone to help, but he didn’t know who to call. He didn’t want to call the 127 hyungs, as he had a feeling that whatever had happened was between them and Donghyuck. He was sure he’d heard yelling earlier on, but then again, that was a regular occurrence in the building, so he couldn’t be too sure.

He dialled the first number he could find. “Jeno hyung?”

“Are you hungry already, Sungie? Want some food?” Jeno’s voice teased him from the other end of the line. “Because if you do, I’m broke. Try calling Renjun. Or, if you’ve called because you’re ready to film and Jaemin didn’t pick up, it’s because he forgot and went back to sleep, so -”

“No, no, it’s not that,” Jisung interrupted quietly, and Jeno seemed to sense the tension in his voice as he stopped talking immediately. “Could you come to the company?”

“Uh, yeah? I’ll ask manager hyung. Why? Are you ok? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Jisung cut in before Jeno could ramble on any more. “It’s Haechan hyung.”

“What? What happened to Haechan?”

“I don’t know. He just...he came in here and he had a panic attack, a massive one. Something happened, and I...I’m scared, hyung, I don’t know what to do. Can you help?” He declined to tell Jeno about the bruises on Donghyuck’s face, already hearing the panic in Jeno’s voice. He could hear Jeno already moving around. 

“I’ll bring my bike instead, it’ll probably be quicker. I don’t know where manager hyung is, anyway,” Jeno told him rapidly, and Jisung heard the click of his helmet. “Where’s Hyuck now?”

“He’s asleep now, I’ve got him here with me,” Jisung told him. “Hurry, hyung, please, it’s...I’m scared,” he repeated.

“Go and see if you can find one of the 127 hyungs to come and help,” Jeno ordered. “Maybe Mark hyung, he’ll know what’s going on. And don’t be scared, Jisung, ok? I’m on my way, and I’ll call Renjun to go there too after his radio ends. We’ll be there soon, ok? Go, now, go and find Mark hyung.”

“Ok. Thank you, hyung.” Jisung sighed, putting down his phone before removing his thin hoodie and balling it up into a makeshift pillow. He gently moved Donghyuck’s head off his leg and onto the hoodie before he stood, shaking out the cramp in his leg and unsticking the material that was damp with his hyung's tears from his body.

He glanced over his shoulder one more to make sure Donghyuck really was asleep before he left. His hyung was lying motionless exactly where Jisung had left him, tear tracks clearly visible on his face as he slept fitfully. Jisung sighed and slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him as he headed away to find the hyungs.

*****

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” Johnny yelled as loud as he could, and instantly the members stopped arguing, stunned into silence. “What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?” he snapped, his voice cracking from straining it. “Donghyuck just fainted on us, and you all decided to start having another round of screaming matches? Are you all insane? I can’t  _ believe _ you’d prioritise the stupidity of one of our members instead of the wellbeing of our youngest!”

“Ok but where exactly is Donghyuck?” Jungwoo asked, getting to his feet. He walked to the middle. “Thanks for trying to stick up for me, by the way, but you could’ve checked if I was ok first before throwing yet more accusations at Donghyuck,” he shot at Jaehyun sarcastically. “My ankle is fine, thanks for asking, it was just a minor twist. It doesn’t even hurt.” He turned to the rest of the group. “And Donghyuck isn’t here. He’s gone, he probably left when you all started screaming at each other, and now there’s no chance of finding him.” 

“We can go-”

“ _ We _ are not doing anything together,” Yuta joined Jungwoo in the middle, glaring at Jaehyun. “This was your fault to begin with, so you can fix it. Just because you couldn’t keep it in your pants-” Yuta froze, instantly regretting what he’d said, but there was no time to retract his statement. Jaehyun turned around, throwing the door open and storming out so quickly he nearly bowled over Jisung, who squeaked in shock and came to a halt. 

“Hyung?”

The older members turned at the sound of Jisung’s voice, and Mark motioned him in warily. Jisung seemed hesitant to enter, and looking around, Mark realised why. Johnny was still standing on the bench, breathing hard, and the furious and frustrated expressions on most of the members’ faces did nothing to help ease the tense atmosphere. 

“Hey, Jisung. What are you doing here?”

“Uh…” Jisung looked around, clearly nervous, and Taeyong sighed. 

“Guys, come on. Take ten minutes, grab some water, then we’ll get back to practice.” He squeezed Jisung’s shoulder as he passed, and Jisung was relieved when Mark stayed back to talk to him.

“Can I talk to you, hyung? It’s urgent.”

“Sure! Come in…”

“No,” Jisung shook his head. “It’s private. Please, hyung, it can’t wait.” Jisung prayed silently that Mark would understand what he was saying. Mark seemed confused but he nodded anyway, glancing over at Taeyong for permission. Taeyong nodded, urging the two of them out, and with a sigh, Mark gestured for Jisung to lead the way, falling into step beside the younger boy as he closed the door behind them. “I’m sorry to bother you, hyung, but...what’s going on? Is everything ok?”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s nothing to worry about,” Mark told him, shaking his head. “Just a little argument, it happens, nothing serious.”

“So why was Haechan hyung crying so hard he had a panic attack and passed out?” Jisung asked. He took Mark’s arm and started pulling him along before Mark could respond. “And who hit him? His entire face is so bruised it looks like he got into a fight. Was it Jaehyun hyung?”

“Jisung, I-”

“Please, hyung. I’m scared. I’ve never seen hyung panic like that in my life,” Jisung turned to him pleadingly. “I called Jeno hyung to come help, and he said to come and ask you what’s going on until he arrives. Please, don’t leave us out of the loop.” 

“It’s nothing to worry about, I swear.”

“Yes it is!” Jisung snapped, coming to a stop just outside of where he was practicing earlier on. Mark looked on the verge of tears himself but said nothing as Jisung ranted. “How do you think I feel right now? I came here to practice and instead, I’ve had to hold my hyung in my arms as he has a breakdown, he’s crying so hard he can’t even breathe, let alone speak, he’s passed out on the floor in there because he’s that exhausted - what the hell is going on? And to top it off, Jaehyun hyung nearly knocked me over as he ran out of there, I’ve  _ never _ seen him that angry before! And almost none of the hyungs would even look at me, never mind each other, when I came to find you! So I’m going to ask you one more time, hyung. What is going on?”

“Let’s go inside,” Mark whispered, clearing his throat, and Jisung took a deep breath before he nodded, pushing open the door. Donghyuck was still there, and Jisung was glad to notice that his breathing was a lot more even than it had been before. Mark winced at the sight of his best friend, and he sat down next to the boy, taking off his own jacket and covering Donghyuck in it. He gently ran his hand through Donghyuck’s hair, unwilling to touch his face in fear of disturbing him. Donghyuck’s eyebrows were furrowed, and every once in a while, he’d take in a deep shuddering breath, still upset even in his sleep.

Jisung waited quietly, feeling guilty for shouting at Mark, concerned for the wellbeing of his hyungs. He leaned against the door, just watching, not saying anything, not even moving as Mark reached up to wipe the silent tears that had started to fall down his face. 

The door opened behind Jisung to admit a panting Jeno into the room, Renjun and Chenle hot on his heels. Jisung put a finger to his lip as they all entered, breathing heavily. Mark looked up as they did, then looked away, his face burning with shame as he wiped his eyes. “What happened?” Chenle was the first to speak, glancing down at Donghyuck and Mark and then at Jisung. Jisung just shrugged helplessly, unable to answer their questions.

“It was Jaehyun hyung.” Mark turned to look at them, swivelling around and clearing his throat. His eyes shone with more tears, but in front of the group, he forced himself to hold it together. “He punched Donghyuck in the face because he thinks Hyuck betrayed him. And then Yoojin hyung came in and slapped him when he found out. And then Taeyong hyung opened his mouth and started accusing Hyuck of betraying Jaehyun hyung, which made everything worse. Hyuck collapsed in the middle of practice, everyone started fighting, then Donghyuck ran away, Jaehyun ran away, everything’s gone to shit, and...it’s all Jaehyun hyung’s fault and Yeri’s fault.” Mark sniffled again, fighting back more tears.

“Woah, hyung, slow down,” Renjun put an arm around Mark’s shoulders, trying to comfort him. “What exactly happened between them? Why would Jaehyun hyung hit Donghyuck? And what does Yeri have to do with any of this?”

“Are they dating?” Jeno asked suddenly, and Mark nodded. Jisung sighed, shaking his head.

“Which means Haechan hyung probably found out that they were dating,” Chenle said slowly. “But...I’m confused. What betrayal?”

“Maybe someone found out and Jaehyun hyung thought it was Haechan?” Renjun asked, and Mark nodded again.

“Yeah. It got leaked to the press, and Jaehyun hyung thinks it was Hyuck. But I swear it wasn’t him. We didn’t even know until manger hyung came in, and even then, Donghyuck kept quiet. But it wasn’t him, I know it wasn’t him.”

“So now what do we do?”

“He doesn’t even want to talk to us,” Mark said, shaking his head. “And to be honest, I don’t blame him.” He raked a hand through his hair, tugging at the locks. “We all just...stood there and let it all play out.” 

“Maybe you should go, hyung,” Jeno said softly, and everyone turned to look at him, shocked. “Let us take care of Donghyuck.” Chenle opened his mouth to protest, but Mark nodded, standing up after gently patting Donghyuck’s sleeping head one last time. 

“You’re right. I should get back to practice and try and sort this out. It’s better if Donghyuck isn’t there, to be honest. Keep him away from everyone, ok? Call me if you need anything or if anything happens, and take care.”

“We will. And hyung? Please keep us updated, too, on the situation,” Chenle added. 

“I will do.” Mark left quietly, pulling the door shut behind him. As soon as he was gone, Donghyuck’s eyes opened and he sat up slowly, his head pounding. 

“What happened?” he croaked, rubbing at his eyes.

“Hyung!” Jisung rushed forward, pulling Donghyuck into a tight hug, and after a minute, the others followed suit, crushing Donghyuck between them. Donghyuck hugged them all back, tears gathering in his eyes again, but he said nothing until they pulled back. “You scared me, hyung,” Jisung told him, his voice muffled. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t even know you were here,” Donghyuck said in a rush. “I thought I was alone, and then…” he trailed off, frowning. “What are you all doing here?”

“You pretty much passed out on Jisung and he freaked out. He called me, and these guys tagged along too.” Jeno pulled him into a second hug, and Donghyuck winced as his face came into contact with Jeno’s shoulder. 

“Mark hyung was here,” Chenle said softly, and Donghyuck’s face fell instantly. 

“I heard,” he said stiffly. “He said I didn’t deserve to be back with the group.”

“No, he didn’t-”

“I was awake, Renjun,” Donghyuck cut in. “Please. Don’t try and convince me otherwise. I have ears, I know what I heard. So I guess I’ll stay with you guys today.” 

They all exchanged glances over his head, but he pretended he didn’t notice as he stood up, letting the hoodie fall from his body, and stretched. His eyes were bloodshot, and his entire face throbbed from the two blows, but he ignored it as he handed Jisung back his hoodie, pointedly kicking the second one away from him. “Hyung…” Chenle began, and Donghyuck turned to look at him, forcing a smile onto his face. “Are you going to be okay? Like...what actually happened? We only know what Mark hyung told us.”

“I’ll be fine, it’s nothing to worry about. It doesn’t even hurt that much,” Donghyuck lied. “And as for what happened...it all started with a water bottle.” Renjun and Jeno exchanged glances, recognising the moment, and then it all clicked into place.

“You found out then?” Renjun asked, and Donghyuck nodded. 

“Yeah.” He sat down again, and Jeno pulled him into a hug. Donghyuck leaned his head on his shoulder as he spoke. “Basically, I left my water bottle here when Renjun and Jeno and I went for our photoshoot…”

_ The door to the van opened, and a widely-grinning Donghyuck jumped back in. “What’s put you in such a good mood?” Jeno asked, but Donghyuck shook his head, his eyes glinting. “Aw, come on, share the good news!” _

_ “There’s nothing to share,” Donghyuck replied as he pulled on his seatbelt and stretched out his legs. _

_ “Yeah? So why are you smiling like you know something we don’t? Did you find some sort of secret, buried treasure?” Renjun snorted, and Donghyuck rolled his eyes.  _

_ “No, of course not, don’t be silly.” _

_ “Well? Either that or you must’ve run into someone.” _

_ “What’s gotten into you two?” Donghyuck grumbled. “I’m just happy that I found my water bottle.” _

_ “What kind of weirdo is that happy over a water bottle?” Jeno teased, and Donghyuck turned in his seat to glare playfully at his friend.  _

_ “Trust me, Jeno, there’s a lot of weirder things to get happy over, want me to start listing them?” _

_ “No, that’s fine-” _

_ “Bicycle seats, for example-” _

_ “Haechannie!” _

Renjun tuned back into the present just in time to hear the end of Donghyuck’s story. “Ah, so the reason you were smiling so much is because you’d just found out about them?” Donghyuck nodded.

“And here I was thinking you were attracted to water bottles!”

The tension in the room broke as Donghyuck playfully threw Jeno’s bike helmet at him, and the others started laughing at the faux-hurt on Jeno’s face before he grinned, too. “But yeah,” Donghyuck sighed once Jisung had stopped laughing so much, “that’s what happened. And now hyung thinks I told.”

“You didn’t tell Jisung, and Mark hyung said you didn’t tell any of the other hyungs, so...it wasn’t you,” Chenle said simply. “It’s got to be someone else. Who else knew?”

Donghyuck sighed. “I don’t know. He said I was the only one.” He swallowed back the sudden urge to cry. “Can we not talk about this, please? I just...I want to get out of here.”

“I’ve got to go back to the radio station, I’m recording some more radio broadcasts,” Renjun said apologetically, standing up. “I’ll be back home later.”

“I can stay and keep you company,” Chenle offered. 

“And I’ll be here practising for a little bit longer.” Jisung took his phone and plugged it back into the speakers before he started to stretch. 

“I guess i’ll go back to the dorm, since I’ve got my bike and it won’t fit in the van.”

“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” Chenle held out his hand to Donghyuck and hauled him to his feet. The members quickly dispersed, promising Donghyuck to see him later, and Donghyuck sighed. 

“Where to?”

“Well first, you need to get an ice pack to your face, because those bruises look nasty…”

*****

“Mark, what happened with Jisung? You never did tell us,” Jungwoo asked as they got ready to leave for the day. “And did you manage to find Donghyuck?”

“Nothing happened, he just got some wires tangled in the practice room,” Mark told him. “And I don’t know where Donghyuck is. I tried calling him but it went straight to voicemail.” He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to tell the truth about Hyuck. He felt bad for lying to Jungwoo, knowing that the man was just as anxious as him about their younger brother, but he felt like he couldn’t tell anyone, not until the situation was sorted out.

“Good, I don’t want him anywhere near me anyway,” Jaehyun muttered, and Mark turned, fury etched in his expression. 

“You know what? Everyone, go on without us. Hyung, can we talk?”

He grabbed Jaehyun’s arm and pulled him out of the lift, ignoring Taeyong’s feeble attempt to stop them. He pulled Jaehyun all the way to the stairs before the older boy had managed to yank his arm out of Mark’s grip. “What do you want?”

“I want you to open your ears and listen to me, ok?” Mark snapped. “It  _ wasn’t  _ Donghyuck, I don’t know how many times I’ve got to tell you this, but he didn’t snitch!”

“He was the only one who knew!”

“And that’s my point,” Mark said simply, sitting down on the top step. Jaehyun joined him a moment later, frowning, his arms folded defiantly across his chest. 

“Explain.”

“We all think Donghyuck is the type of person to blurt things out, right?” Mark started, and Jaehyun nodded. “Wrong. He’s playful, sure, but he knows how to keep a secret. He’s compassionate, and he’s caring enough to know that when something is serious, it’s serious, and he would  _ never _ betray anyone like that. You know that already, you’ve known that for years. So how could you accuse him like this?”

“Because it just makes sense,” Jaehyun said helplessly, and Mark saw the tears in his eyes, too. “Nobody else knew! Just me and Yeri, and then Hyuck found out. And the next thing I know, it’s plastered all over Naver. So tell me, Mark, who could’ve done it?”

“I don’t know, hyung. I just know that it wasn’t Donghyuck. Want further proof that it wasn’t him?” Mark stared at Jaehyun intently as he stood up. “He passed out crying because he was hurt by you, and Jisung panicked and called the other kids. And guess what? None of the Dream members knew either until I told them about it. Even after getting hit, even after having a breakdown over this, Donghyuck didn’t snitch.” Mark didn’t wait for a response before he walked away, leaving Jaehyun to his own devices.

**********

“Thank you for keeping me company, Chenle.” Donghyuck hugged the younger boy tightly. “I know there’s a hundred other things you could’ve been doing, but…”

“Don’t be silly, hyung,” Chenle said firmly, rolling his eyes as he pulled away. “You’re way more important than anything else, don’t forget that. Now, let’s go home. Jaemin hyung’s called me at least four times demanding to know where we are. I told him I was staying with you guys too, so he thinks we got lost.”

“Actually…” Donghyuck hesitated. “I might stay back for a bit. I’ve wasted enough time today, I should’ve been with the others to practice and instead I just...moped around.”

“Don’t be silly, you needed the rest,” Chenle scolded him, but he nodded anyway. “Ok. I’ll get Jisung and we’ll go, I’ll tell them you’ll come home later.”

“Thanks,” Donghyuck said gratefully as they arrived at the practice room. It only took a few more minutes before Jisung was ready to go, and Donghyuck watched the younger members go before he turned to practice.

He was still hurting, and he couldn’t stop replaying the moment of Jaehyun’s fist connecting with his face in his head. He still couldn’t believe that Jaehyun had hit him, had accused him of something so vile, but right now, he was out of tears. He was numb, numb to all the pain, numb to the anger that burned through him, numb to the betrayal by his members. At the end of it all, he had nobody but himself, and he knew it. After all, he thought as his music started blaring through the speakers, if the roles were reversed and this had happened to another Dream member, perhaps Jeno or Jaemin, he knew for a fact that they would have reached the same outcome. Nobody trusted him, and Donghyuck knew it.

He started dancing, throwing his body into the dance moves they’d been practicing over the last few days and even that very morning before they’d had the break that had changed everything. His head was still aching, and his face hurt acutely in spite of the ice that Chenle had managed to procure for him, but he ignored everything and just focused on the music. He forced himself to move, dancing more aggressively than he’d ever danced in his life as he hit every single move on every single beat.

When the music finished, he replayed it, and again, and then again until his body was burning. His lungs heaved with the effort of breathing, his legs trembled underneath him, and for some reason his stomach was hurting again, a sharp pain that almost had him collapsing. He caught sight of himself in the mirror as he sat down, exhausted, and looked away immediately. Donghyuck hated the way he looked in that moment: sweaty, broken, his hair sticking to his skin, the marks on his face sticking out more prominently than they had before. 

He wanted to cry for real, he wanted to scream and shout to the world, but he was too tired. The day’s events had started to take its toll on him, and he just wanted to go home. He wanted a hug, and a shower, and he just wanted to sleep. His small nap earlier in the day did nothing to alleviate his exhaustion, so he decided to call it a day. It had barely been an hour since the others had gone home, but he got up anyway, grabbing his phone, intending to make his way to the lobby.

Donghyuck had just finished putting on his mask when he spotted a lone figure coming down the stairs and around the corner in front of him. He froze in his spot, but the figure turned, looking directly at him, and he knew there was nowhere for him to hide. It was Jaehyun, and now he was heading straight towards him.

Donghyuck didn’t know what to do. He could run, but there was nowhere for him to run to. He could stay, but that would mean talking to Jaehyun, and that was the last thing Donghyuck wanted right now. He wanted Jeno or Chenle or Jaemin to come and rescue him, to take him away. As soon as that thought hit him, he scoffed inwardly, disgusted at his own weakness. 

And then it was too late. Jaehyun had reached him, was standing directly in front of him, and Donghyuck was still frozen on the step he had been standing on fifteen seconds earlier. “Donghyuck-”

“No!”

It came out louder than he’d intended it to, but he couldn't help it, the panic rushing out of him before he could stop it. Donghyuck hated to admit it, but he was scared. All he could see of Jaehyun was his eyes, and he didn't look happy at all. Donghyuck backed up as quickly as he could, but going backwards up the stairs was harder than it seemed, and he stumbled, almost falling down. 

"Hyuck, wait!"

"Go away! Leave me alone!" 

Donghyuck grabbed his bag and turned, running as far as he could go. His legs ached, everything hurt, and the last thing he wanted to do was go upstairs, but it was his only option. 

"I just want to-"

"STOP!" Donghyuck screamed so loudly that his voice bounced off the stairwell, and Jaehyun stopped where he was. Donghyuck's chest heaved, but he forced down his feelings, refusing to let himself lose control again. "Please just...don't hurt me,” he whispered, backing away. “Leave me alone."

He turned and ran up the rest of the way, back to the practice room, and this time, when he looked back, the hallway was deserted. 

*****

“Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun sat up to see Johnny and Yuta standing in the doorway of his room, both of them looking uncharacteristically nervous. Jungwoo was in the shower, leaving Jaehyun to his own thoughts. "Hi." As soon as the word slipped from his mouth, Jaehyun regretted it. It sounded stilted and awkward, completely unlike how he, Johnny and Yuta were towards each other, and he hated it. He knew that it was his fault though. 

"Can we come in?" 

Jaehtun realised Johnny was still leaning against the doorframe, Yuta right behind him, and he nodded quickly, gesturing for them to take a seat on Jungwoo's bed. That was another wall that he'd created between them; they'd never asked each other permission to go in and out of the rooms. 

"What's up?" 

Yuta leaned against the wall, though Johnny took a seat, taking a moment to look around the room and absorbing the decorations from Jaehyun’s posters and Jungwoo’s plant pots before he said anything. “We wanted to talk to you about everything,” Yuta began quietly. “But first, I just wanted to apologise to you. Can you hear me out before you say anything?”

Jaehyun nodded, knowing he was in the wrong, and lay back again, letting Yuta gather his thoughts quietly. "I just...I'm sorry, first of all, for saying what I said to you earlier about not being able to keep it in your pants. Although it's probably true-" Jaehyun snorted, and Johnny grinned. "- it doesn't mean I had to say it like that. You can't control your feelings at the end of the day, so it wasn't fair for me to throw that in your face the way I did. Can you forgive me for that?"

Jaehtun nodded again. "You were right, though. I did fuck up, all because I chose to follow my feelings. I kind of deserved it."

"Forget about whether you deserved it or not, it doesn’t matter.” Yuta shook his head in frustration. “We both crossed the line today.”

Johnny nodded, turning back to Jaehyun. “The second thing we wanted to talk to you about was your behaviour this morning. No matter how angry you are, no matter what happens, you  _ never, ever _ hit someone for it. I'm actually quite angry at you, because not only did you hit another member, you hit our youngest, our baby brother, the one person who all of us are supposed to protect. To make things worse, you accused him of breaking your trust, of betraying you in a way none of us would even  _ think _ about doing, not in a million years. Because of that one action, you caused him to get hit  _ again _ by Yoojin hyung, which has never happened to any of us before, you made everyone doubt him and his integrity. We're all worried sick about him right now, because he won't answer our calls or messages, we don't even know where he is right now! You need to sort this out, Jaehyun, because it's really unacceptable." Johnny sighed, smoothing his hand across the covers on Jungwoo's bed. "I get that this is a stressful time for you. It's not any easier for Donghyuck, either. But...you need to fix this. He's not well, and this didn't help him at all."

"What do you mean he's not well?" Jaehyun asked sharply, dropping the pillow he was hugging and sitting up straight. 

Jungwoo cleared his throat from the doorway and entered, his soft hair dripping water onto his shoulders as he sat down, edging past Yuta. "He seemed to be in a lot of pain this morning but before he could tell us what was wrong, you almost took his head off his shoulders." Jungwoo frowned at Jaehyun. “And then he collapsed, when Taeil hyung and I tripped, but again, we didn’t get a chance to check on him before you and Yuta hyung started arguing again.”

"Oh God…" Jaehyun buried his head in his hands. "I saw him and he seemed...terrified and a little out of it."

"What? Did you speak to him?" Yuta asked him in alarm, stepping forward. “Was he ok?” 

"I tried to, but he just...screamed at me. I thought my eardrums were going to burst. He didn't want to hear it at all, he just ran away."

"No wonder. I would be too if one of my favourite hyungs decks me in the face out of nowhere and yells at me like that in front of everyone."

"Can you just drop it now?" Jaehyun snapped at Jungwoo, a little bit of irritation sneaking through into his voice. 

"Not until you fix it. Go find him.” Jungwoo pushed pointedly at Johnny, forcing him to move down the bed so Jungwoo could climb in under the covers.

“He won’t speak to me. He’s...he’s scared of me,” Jaehyun admitted. “What do I do?”

Jungwoo shrugged at him. “It’s your mess, you fix it.” Johnny frowned at Jungwoo, and Yuta opened his mouth to say something more, but the younger boy turned his back on all three of them. “Goodnight, hyungs.”

*****

Jaemin frowned as he looked down at his phone. It was well past midnight, and the other members had gone to bed after Chenle and Jisung had arrived with Donghyuck’s message. But that had been three hours ago, and an hour after that, Donghyuck had texted them to let them know he was on his way. Jaemin volunteered to wait up for him, having been asleep when everything had happened earlier on in the day. He wanted to see Donghyuck, to give him a hug, to tell him that Jaehyun hyung was an absolute idiot for everything, but the only way he could do that was if he was actually here.

He debated going to find him himself, but he didn’t know where to start looking. After a minute, Jaemin got up, gently opening the bedroom doors to check on the members. Chenle was sound asleep, as was Jisung, but Renjun and Jeno were both still up and talking quietly in Renjun’s room. They both looked up as Jaemin came in, frowning. “Hey guys,” he greeted them, sitting down on the bed. 

“Where’s Donghyuck?”

“He’s not here yet.”

“What?” Jeno turned to him instantly. “What do you mean, he’s not here yet? We thought he came back hours ago!”

“He hasn’t come home,” Jaemin repeated helplessly. “I was debating whether to go and look for him, but-”

“Of course! Let’s go,” Renjun got up instantly, taking Jaemin’s hand and heading to the door. “He texted two hours ago, and it only takes fifteen minutes. If he’s not back by now, then something must have happened. He’s probably still at the company.” Jeno made to follow, but Renjun stopped him. “Jeno, you stay here. Just in case he turns up here while we’re out, or if one of the kids wakes up. We can’t leave them alone.

“Fine,” Jeno grumbled, knowing he was right. Renjun and Jaemin dressed quickly and headed out of the door, and Jeno watched them leave, his heart thudding anxiously in his chest.

Renjun and Jaemin ran as fast as they could, their trainers slapping against the concrete. It was against the rules for them to be out so late, and they’d be in so much trouble if they were caught, but that was the last thing on their minds, Donghyuck’s safety being the most important thing right now. 

“We...we got here in...in eleven minutes but...at what...at what cost?” Renjun wheezed as they swiped their ID cards to gain entrance to the dark building. 

“Is this...really...the time?” Jaemin wheezed back, squeezing through the doors as soon as the gap was wide enough. Renjun just shook his head, hurrying over to the lifts. 

“Third..third floor.” The lift was quiet, the sound of their breathing punctuating the air. Renjun tapped his foot on the floor, impatiently willing the lift to go faster so they could go and find Donghyuck. “Come on, come on!”

It didn’t take them long to find Donghyuck. He was in the practice room where they’d left him hours ago, curled up on the floor. His jacket covered him up, but he was awake, his eyes staring blankly at nothing. His bag seemed to have been thrown across the room, his belongings scattered all over the floor. Jaemin’s initial relieved response gave way to panic as he saw the fine sheen of sweat on Donghyuck’s forehead, as well as seeing the injuries that he’d heard about from Renjun. Renjun winced as he saw them too; they seemed worse now than they did earlier in the day, despite Chenle’s reassurances that he’d iced them as best as he could.

“Hyuck?” Jaemin shook him gently, kneeling down next to Donghyuck. Donghyuck whimpered, curling up even tighter, and Jaemin and Renjun exchanged worried glances. “Hyuckie, baby, it’s just me, it’s Jaemin. Renjun’s here too, we came to get you.”

“Hurts,” Donghyuck whispered, closing his eyes, and Renjun’s frown deepened as he stroked a hand through Donghyuck’s hair. That, too, was wet and matted with sweat, but Renjun ignored it, doing his best to comfort his friend.

“What hurts?” 

“Everything...stomach...head…” Donghyuck’s voice was quiet, and the boys could hear the pain in it. 

“Can you stand up for us?” Renjun asked, moving to gently help Donghyuck sit up. “Please?”

Together, they managed to get Donghyuck into a sitting position, though he kept his knees pushed right against his chest. “Leave me here,” Donghyuck told them, a tear trickling down his face, but both boys shook their heads no. Renjun stood up to repack Donghyuck’s bag, hurriedly throwing in the items and zipping it closed.

“We can’t! We came all this way to see if you were ok or not, you texted three hours ago that you were coming home and then you didn’t! I was waiting or you, you idiot, and you just didn’t turn up! Do you have any idea how worried we’ve all been?” Jaemin scolded, and Donghyuck’s eyes filled with pained tears. Jaemin’s expression instantly softened, and he sighed. “I’m sorry, but...please. We’ll carry you home if we have to. But you’re not staying here in the cold, and especially not by yourself after what happened, do you hear me? Chenle and Jisung shouldn’t have let you, either, but it is what it is.”

Donghyuck nodded, reaching up to wipe away his tears, and allowed Renjun and Jaemin to get him to stand. He leaned heavily on the boys, breathing shallowly as pain ripped through him. He didn’t know what was happening or why he was hurting so much, but it felt like his insides were being torn to shreds, and he felt lightheaded again.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled as they began to make their way out of the room. “I just...I really was on my way, and then...then I saw Jaehyun hyung, and he was coming towards me, and I-I panicked. Please, I just...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Renjun forced out, trying not to show his tiredness already. They were barely out of the building, and they still had a long way to go. “It’s not your fault.” Jaemin nodded his agreement with Renjun, putting his arm around Donghyuck’s waist as they half-supported, half-carried their friend back home.

“Is it just me or is he getting heavier?” Renjun gasped barely five minutes later. They had been walking in silence, concentrating on keeping themselves upright. “Jaemin, please, let’s stop here-”

They quickly made their way over to the wall, leaning against it. And that’s when they saw. Donghyuck was unconscious, his head lolling to the side and hitting Renjun’s shoulder. The only reason he was still upright was the boys, who were still holding him up. Sweat seemed to be pouring down his face, and even in his unconscious state, he seemed to be in a whole lot of pain. “Fuck,” Renjun swore for the first time. “I think he passed out. There’s something seriously wrong with him, what do we do?”

“I’ll carry him,” Jaemin said firmly, worry etching lines across his smooth skin. “Come on, help me get him up.” Renjun removed Donghyuck’s bag from Jaemin’s shoulder and put it on himself before he hauled Donghyuck up onto Jaemin. It was an agonising long walk home. They had to stop another three times so Jaemin could get his breath back, and Donghyuck still hadn’t woken up. 

They’d almost reached the dorm when they saw someone running into their apartment block. “Hey!” Jaemin yelled; he dropped Donghyuck’s arm, and Renjun grunted with the effort, but he quickly adjusted Donghyuck’s body weight and slowly walked after Jaemin as the younger boy ran after the intruder. Only a moment later, he returned with the intruder, who turned out to be Yuta hyung. “Hyung, please help us, we don’t know what to do,” Jaemin said breathlessly. Yuta nodded grimly, taking Donghyuck from Renjun and carrying him inside. 

“You’re back!” Jeno greeted them happily, but the smile slid off his face the instant he saw the three of them supporting their friend. “Oh no.” He stood back, holding the door open and letting Yuta through to lay Donghyuck on the sofa. “What happened?”

“We found him, and he didn’t look well, and then he passed out while we were on our way home,” Jaemin explained breathlessly. “We had to carry him home, and Yuta hyung just turned up.”

“I was just on my way to see if Haechan was here,” Yuta explained from where he was kneeling next to the boy. “I’ve been looking for him for two hours, this was the last place I was about to check before going to the practice rooms again.”

“We found him in the practice room,” Renjun told him. “He was ok but he didn’t look well…”

“Jaehyun said he ran into him again and that he’s not well, but he didn’t want to come and find him himself because…” Yuta hesitated, then shook his head.

“Now what do we do?” Renjun looked between them all, chewing on his lower lip. 

“Call Mark hyung,” Jeno said firmly. “And...manager hyung.” Yuta nodded in agreement. 

“Which one?” Jaemin asked, already dialling Mark’s number. Jeno and Renjun exchanged glances. 

“Anyone but Yoojin hyung.” Jaemin nodded as Renjun began towelling the sweat off Donghyuck’s face and leaned back on the couch, waiting for Mark to pick up.

**********

Mark couldn’t sleep that night. He was worried beyond belief about Donghyuck, and the longer he didn’t hear from the boy, the worse his anxiety seemed to get. Yoojin hyung was snoring in his bed, and not for the first time, Mark had to resist the urge to smother him with his pillow. No matter how long it would be, Mark could never erase the image of Yoojin hitting Hyuck. 

He was just debating whether to go and work out in the living room when his phone rang. Mark jumped out of his bed and ran out of the room before Yoojin hyung could wake, and answered it quickly, his hands trembling. “Hello?”

“Mark hyung? Can you come to the dorm?”

“Jaemin, hi, yes, what’s wrong?” Mark babbled. He looked around for his coat and shoved on the first pair of shoes he could see. “Is everything ok?”

“It’s Donghyuck, he-.” 

“I’m on my way.” Mark didn’t need any more explanation. He made his way out of the dorm as quickly as he could, taking the stairs two at a time, and at the bottom, he almost fell, colliding with somebody. “Ah! I’m so sorry!” he bowed quickly.

“Mark? Where are you going?”

Johnny was standing there, holding a coffee in his hand. “Oh, hyung,” Mark sighed in relief. “I was just...heading out.”

“At half one in the morning? When you should be asleep?” Johnny raised an eyebrow.

“I could say the same for you, hyung,” Mark gestured to his cup. Johnny sighed.

“I couldn’t sleep,” the older boy admitted. “So I thought I might as well get my energy up.” They stood awkwardly in front of each other for a minute. “Where are you going?”

“I…” Mark hesitated. “To the Dream dorms.”

“Dream? Why? Is something wrong?” Johnny looked concerned, and after a minute, Mark sighed. 

“Can you drive me there? I’ll explain on the way.” 

“Sure, sure, let’s go.”

In the end, Mark was glad Johnny came with him. He explained the situation to Johnny, and soon the two of them were heading up the stairs into the apartment. Jeno took a moment to open the door, clear exhaustion and worry written across his face. He frowned when he saw Johnny but said nothing, stepping aside to let the two of them into the dorm.

“What happened?” Mark asked breathlessly, following Jeno into the sitting room.

“Renjun and Jaemin went to see where Donghyuck was. He promised he’d be back at ten, but it was already past midnight by the time we thought to go and look. He said he was in pain, but they managed to get him up and out of the building, and then all of a sudden, he fainted and wouldn't wake up, so they carried him home. He hasn’t woken up since, but he’s been groaning a little, like he’s in pain. Yuta hyung’s also here, he’s just gone to the bathroom.”

“We need to call an ambulance,” Johnny said worriedly, looking up from where he had knelt down beside Donghyuck. “He’s burning up, this isn’t normal at all.”

“Can you not do anything to help?” Jaemin asked anxiously, and Johnny shook his head helplessly.

“I’m not a doctor.” He stood up, taking out his phone, then stopped. “It’d probably be quicker if I drive him there.” In one swift motion, he’d scooped Donghyuck up in his arms and was carrying him out of the room just as Yuta came back inside.

“Hey!”

The five of them followed Johnny outside, where Johnny was already bundling Donghyuck into the backseat. “Hyung, wait for us!” Renjun called, and Johnny turned. 

“No, look, this issue has blown up more than it’s needed to,” he snapped, folding his arms. “All of you, back inside.” Nobody moved, staring resolutely up at him. “Now! And that includes you, too, Mark.”

“Johnny, wait!” Yuta ran up to him. “Slow down, you’ll hurt him!”

“Hyung, you can’t do this,” Mark snapped, holding up a hand to stop Renjun and Jeno from leaving. “You did nothing to help either!”

“I’m not having this argument right now,” Johnny growled at him, but he relented, opening up the front door to the car. “Two people and two people  _ only _ , do you hear me?”

Mark clambered in the front, and after a minute, Yuta urged Jaemin to get into the back beside Donghyuck. “I’ll stay here, then,” Yuta said, glancing at the other two. “Just in case Jae decides to come by and finally be a hero.”

Jeno and Renjun stood side by side, folding their arms in annoyance, but neither of them said anything as Johnny started the engine and sped off, throwing worried glances at Donghyuck, whose head was in Jaemin’s lap, every so often in the mirror. 

“He’ll be fine,” Johnny said suddenly, glancing into the back. “He’s strong, he’ll be fine. He’ll be ok.”

*****

Taeyong was out of his mind with worry. He’d woken up to find Jaehyun, Yuta, Mark and Johnny all missing, as well as Donghyuck, who apparently hadn’t made it home. He’d tried calling and texting, but nobody was responding, and the later in the morning it got, the more anxious Taeyong got. Doyoung was in a similar state of worry, pacing around Taeyong’s room to stop himself from overthinking.

Finally, Taeyong’s phone pinged, and he snatched it up eagerly, holding it to his ear. “Where the hell are you?”

“Hello to you too, hyung.” It was Jisung, and Taeyong bit back his disappointment. “I’m in my dorm, why?”

“Sorry, I thought it was Johnny,” Taeyong sighed. “Jisung, do you...would you happen to know where your hyungs are? It’s a long shot, but I’m looking for Jaehyun, Yuta, Johnny, Mark and Haechan.”

“I don’t know where Jaehyun hyung is, but Yuta hyung’s sleeping in my room, and the others are at the hospital, with Jaemin hyung as well.”

“What?!”

“Ouch, stop shouting!” It was Jeno this time, and Taeyong swallowed. 

“Jeno, I’m out of my mind as it is, can you just tell me what’s going on?”

“Ok but you have to promise not to be mad,” Jeno warned.

“Fine, fine, just tell me,” Taeyong said impatiently, stepping into his shoes. He beckoned to Doyoung, and the two of them left the dorm, sharing a pair of headphones as they walked. 

“Jaehyun hyung tried to talk to Haechan last night, but he freaked out on him and ran away. Then he collapsed or something, and he was saying that he wasn’t feeling well. Jaemin and Renjun went to find him and they were on their way home with him but he fainted, so Jaemin carried Haechan all the way home, and they ran into Yuta hyung, who apparently had been looking for Haechan for two hours. Then we called Mark hyung, because he told us to call him if we needed help, and then he turned up with Johnny hyung, and Johnny hyung said Hyuck needed a hospital because he’s really badly ill,” Jeno supplied. “I asked Jisung to tell you all this while I showered but he apparently never got this far.”

“Not my fault, I was eating breakfast!” Jisung’s distant retort came from the background, but nobody smiled. Taeyong swallowed back his anxiety, exchanging a worried glance with Doyoung who seemed to still be absorbing the information. 

“What’s this about Jaehyun hyung, though?” Jeno continued. “What happened to him now?” He seemed angry, and rightfully so, Taeyong thought.

“Jungwoo said he wasn’t in his bed, and he wasn’t in either dorm,” Doyoung supplied. “We think he probably left earlier on at some point, but we have no idea where he is, and he’s not answering his phone.”

“I’ll take Jisung and Chenle and we’ll go find him, how about that?” Jeno asked. “You can go to the hospital and check on Donghyuck, we’ll see you at the company?”

“Please,” Taeyong said, relief clear in his voice. “Thank you, Jeno. And please, let us know what happens!”

“I will.” 

Doyoung waited for the call to end before he sighed. “God, when I find Jaehyun I’m going to kill him. I can’t believe after everything, he went and made things worse!”

“Says the guy who was the first to accuse Hyuck of betraying Jaehyun,” Taeyong retorted. Doyoung glared at Taeyong, but Taeyong held out a hand. “We’ll talk about this tonight, let’s go and see how he is.” He quickly flagged down a taxi and the two of them clambered in, immediately rushing to the hospital.

*****

“Mark hyung, wake up.” Mark groaned as he was shaken, but as soon as Jaemin’s face came into focus in front of him, he sat up straight away, almost bumping heads with the younger boy. Jaemin looked just as exhausted as Mark felt, but his face belied only relief. “Haechan’s back.”

“Where? Can we go see him yet? What happened?” 

As soon as they’d got to the hospital, Donghyuck had been taken away from them. Johnny had gone with them, leaving Mark and Jaemin to sit in the waiting room, not knowing what was going on. Johnny had returned an hour later to inform them that Donghyuck had gone into surgery, but other than that, they’d had no further information. 

Now, Jaemin and Mark hurried through the hallways of the hospital, heading up a flight of stairs to Donghyuck’s room. “The doctor said his appendix was about to burst,” Jaemin explained quickly to Mark. “They had to take him into surgery and remove it. He’s back now, he’s resting. Johnny hyung’s with him.” 

Johnny sat on one side of Donghyuck, holding the boy’s hand as he slept. Donghyuck was asleep, too, and Jaemin and Mark entered quietly so as not to disturb them. Jaemin sat on the bed as Mark took the second chair, sighing quietly. 

The bruises on Donghyuck’s face were beginning to go purple and green, and once again, Mark was shocked at how hard he was struck. He gently stroked Donghyuck’s hair, looking at his little brother quietly. He couldn’t believe how much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and once again, he cursed Jaehyun in his head.

“Doyoung hyung?” 

Mark turned in shock to see Doyoung standing in the doorway. Jaemin had already got up to open the door, and a moment later, Taeyong was behind them. “What are you doing here?” Jaemin continued, looking between them, but both of their eyes were focused on Donghyuck, who was lying in the bed behind him. 

“Oh God... Hyuckie,” Taeyong whispered, and pushed past Jaemin to get to Donghyuck, tears in his eyes as he saw his charge. “What happened?” he asked.

“Appendicitis. He’s all good now, just resting.” Jaemin and Doyoung followed, and Mark reluctantly stood up, letting Doyoung sit down. “How did you know where we were?”

“Jeno said you were at the hospital,” Doyoung said simply, staring down at Donghyuck. “Didn’t take us long to find you, the lady downstairs told us where you were. Taeyong hyung was worried sick, by the way, since nobody bothered to answer their phones.”

“I left mine in my room,” Mark said apologetically. “And Johnny hyung’s been running around the hospital all night with Donghyuck. Did he try your phone, Jaemin?”

“No, not Jaemin, Jaehyun,” Doyoung replied impatiently as Jaemin made to check his phone. “Jaehyun wasn’t at the dorm, and neither was Yuta hyung. You haven’t seen him by any chance, have you?”

Mark shook his head. “Nope. He’ll be fine, though, he’s a grown adult, as we all know.” Doyoung chose to ignore the spite in Mark’s tone, though he did sigh irritably. 

Donghyuck chose that moment to open his eyes. Taeyong flinched backwards, and everyone’s attention turned to the bed. Johnny jolted awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Hey guys,” he mumbled sleepily, oblivious to Donghyuck slowly awakening from the bed. “When did you get here?”

“About five minutes ago,” Jaemin told him. “Haechannie’s awake.”

It took Donghyuck a few minutes to get his bearings back, and the other five waited anxiously as his eyes slowly adjusted to the early morning light flooding into the room. Then he groaned, wincing, and his hand left Johnny’s to come to his side. “Whass happenin’?” he slurred, clearly still under the influence of the painkillers they’d given him. “Why am I here?” He turned his head to the side to see Taeyong and Mark, and he frowned. “Why are  _ you _ here?”

He was more awake now, though his eyes were still glazed over, and as he tried to sit up, a stream of groans escaped from his mouth. “Hyuck, don’t-”

“Don’t call me that,” he hissed, turning to Johnny angrily and yanking his arm from Johnny’s grip. Johnny swallowed, pain flashing across his face, but he said nothing, simply fluffing up the pillows behind Donghyuck’s head to let him sit comfortably. Donghyuck stayed quiet as he settled back into the pillows, and Mark could see that he was still hurting. 

“Are you hungry?”

“I want you all out, now,” Donghyuck responded icily, and suddenly all of his pain was hidden behind an emotionless mask. “And don’t make me scream, because I will.” He waited as everyone stood up to leave, and grabbed Jaemin’s wrist before he turned to go, his head down. Jaemin turned in surprise and sat back down, looking away guiltily as Mark and Taeyong gave him a look he couldn’t quite decipher. “Jaemin, can you shut the blinds?” Donghyuck asked, still looking anywhere but at them. “I can feel their eyes on me through the window.”

Jaemin stood up and closed the blinds as requested before he came back, drawing Donghyuck into a gentle hug. “God, Hyuck,” he whispered, tears coming to his eyes, and as he pulled away, he saw Donghyuck was close to crying too. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel...ok,” Donghyuck admitted. “Better than I was. But my side hurts, and my head. What exactly happened? How did I get here?”

“We were trying to get you home and you fainted at some point,” Jaemin explained. “So I carried you home, and we ran into Yuta hyung, who said he was coming to look for you. Then we called Mark hyung, and he showed up with Johnny hyung, who said you had to get to the hospital, and me and him brought you here with Mark hyung. Manager hyung showed up, too - Seunghyun hyung - but he left not long ago,” Jaemin clarified hastily as Donghyuck tensed up in alarm. “He’s gone to talk to Yoojin hyung, apparently he’s going to get suspended indefinitely.” Donghyuck swallowed and nodded. “As for you...your appendix was about to burst. According to Johnny hyung, the doctor said that if we were a couple of hours later, you’d have had to get open surgery to drain your appendix. Which means you’ve been hurting for over a week, maybe longer, and you didn’t say anything. Why?”

“I didn’t want to be weak,” Donghyuck whispered, hanging his head. “I just thought it was a normal stomach ache so...I didn’t say anything.”

“Being ill isn’t a sign of weakness, Haechannie,” Jaemin patted his hand gently. “It means you’re human. If you were in pain, you should’ve told someone, any of the hyungs. Johnny hyung was saying you collapsed on them yesterday, and so did Mark hyung.”

“I didn’t collapse,” Donghyuck sighed. “I just sat down for a minute, and then all hell broke loose.” He coughed, and Jaemin handed him a water bottle. After drinking his fill, he looked up again. “I can’t face them, Jaemin. Is that...is that bad? Am I being a coward? Am I...Jaemin help me,” Donghyuck almost begged. “Am I in the wrong here?”

Jaemin sighed. “I don’t think I can tell you exactly what to do,” he said. “Everything I know has come through Jisung, Renjun and the others, who got their information from Mark hyung. So second, maybe third-hand. And again, I only know what Mark hyung was probably thinking. I don’t know how you feel, other than angry and maybe scared. I don’t know what was running through your mind when everything happened, so I don’t know exactly what to tell you.”

Donghyuck took a deep breath and another swig of water before he explained everything to Jaemin, from finding out about Jaehyun and Yeri dating to getting hit by Manager Yoojin to running away to the Dream practice room. He explained how everyone had looked at him with distrust and contempt, how he knew that none of them believed him, how he wasn’t as important as Jaehyun simply because he was the maknae and Jaehyun was the hyung. 

By the time he’d finished, his stomach was grumbling with hunger, but he felt lighter now that Jaemin knew everything. Jaemin nodded, standing up and heading to the door. “Where are you going?” Donghyuck asked, panic flooding through him once again. Was Jaemin really about to leave him after this?

“I’m just going to ask one of the hyungs to get you breakfast,” Jaemin said, glancing over his shoulder and smiling. “I realised you haven’t eaten yet.” Donghyuck sagged in relief for the second time as Jaemin quickly spoke to someone outside and came to sit down again. 

“Are they still here?”

“Just Doyoung hyung and Mark hyung. Doyoung hyung said Taeyong’s gone to help Jeno find Jaehyun hyung, and Johnny hyung went with him so he could get some sleep.”

“Where’s Jaehyun gone now?” Despite everything, Donghyuck couldn’t help the curiosity getting the better of him. At the end of the day, he knew he still loved his hyung even after being hurt by him, and that was part of why he was so conflicted. 

Jaemin shrugged. “Apparently he wasn’t at your dorm this morning, I don’t know what’s going on.” They sat in silence for a few moments before Mark entered, holding a tray. He kicked the door shut behind him and sat down on the empty seat, handing Donghyuck the tray. He looked nervous, and Donghyuck didn’t blame him. He was still angry, but not as much as he had been earlier on. He took the tray and started eating,waiting for Mark to inevitably start speaking.

“Hyuck, is it ok if we talk?” Mark asked softly, and Donghyuck nodded once. Jaemin smiled and stood up. 

“I’m going to get coffee.” 

Mark waited for the door to shut behind Jaemin before he cleared his throat. “Look, I just...I just wanted to tell you that I don’t think you did it. I get the feeling that you think we all blame you and I swear, we don’t. Everyone was just shocked that Jaehyun hyung didn’t tell us he was dating Yeri. That’s it, I swear. I don’t blame you at all. In fact, I think hyung was completely out of order and he shouldn’t have hit you, and neither should Yoojin hyung.”

“I deserved it.” Donghyuck swallowed down a small piece of toast, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore.

“No! No, you didn’t,” Mark said firmly, clutching Donghyuck’s hand in his. “We’ve all been angry before, but none of us have ever hit each other. None of them should have touched you, and I’m sorry that none of us could stop it. But look, Hyuck, I’m on your side. I know it wasn’t you, I believe you, and so do Yuta hyung and Jungwoo hyung.”

“What about...Taeyong hyung?” Donghyuck asked. Mark stilled, unsure of what to say. “Or Doyoung hyung? Or Taeil hyung? Because Taeyong hyung was in here an hour ago crying because of me, but yesterday he was the first one to accuse me of being a snitch. And I hurt Taeil hyung and Jungwoo hyung.”

“I...Johnny hyung said we couldn’t discuss it. He said...to wait til we get home. So I don’t know,” Mark said helplessly. 

Donghyuck sighed, pushing his tray away from him and placing his other hand on top of Mark’s. “I need to-”

But they never did find out what Donghyuck needed to do, because the next moment, the door had burst open and a figure in a mask had run inside, panting. “Hey!” Doyoung yelled from outside, rushing in behind him, tackling him to the ground. The figure hit the ground with a thud, and Mark jumped off the bed. Jaemin ran inside, coffee all over his hand but the cup nowhere to be seen as he hurried back to his friend. “What the hell?!” Doyoung yelled again.

“Ow, let me go! It’s just me, it’s Jaehyun!” 

“Hyung?!” Mark and Doyoung both stood up, releasing Jaehyun from the floor. Jaehyun stood up again, rubbing his knee and glaring at Doyoung. “What the hell are you doing here? Taeyong’s going out of his mind looking for you Lord knows where, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s got Jeno and Jisung out looking too! Where have you been?!” Doyoung snapped at him. 

“I was with Yeri.” Immediately a tense silence descended upon the room. “I ran into Johnny hyung on my way back to the dorms and...I had to come straight here.” He turned to Donghyuck. “Hyuck, please, we need to talk. Please don’t scream at me this time?”

Donghyuck stared up at Jaehyun. Jaemin was standing behind him, a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Donghyuck was grateful, knowing that it was only his presence that grounded him and stopped him from panicking again. His surgery wound throbbed, and he felt an immense tiredness sink into him - probably from the painkillers wearing off, he thought - but he knew he had to talk to Jaehyun before he got some rest.

From behind Doyoung, he spotted a doctor coming towards them, frowning at the pool of coffee on the floor, and he looked back at Jaehyun, nodding. “Ok. But as long as Jaemin can stay.” He turned to his friend. “If you don’t mind, that is.” Jaemin nodded, smiling at Donghyuck. 

“Hyung, can you do something about the doctor?” Donghyuck directed at Mark. “Because I’m pretty sure he’s about to come and yell at us all for that mess outside, and...we need some privacy, I think.” Donghyuck looked back up at Jaehyun, who smiled tentatively, and Mark nodded at him. 

“No worries. We’ll be just outside, ok?”

Doyoung was already engaging the doctor, and Mark grabbed some paper towels before he joined them, finally leaving the three of them alone. Jaehyun sat down heavily in the chair, running his hands through his hair and wiping the sweat from his head. Donghyuck busied himself squeezing Jaemin’s hand from a lack of anything else to do as they waited. Finally, Jaehyun turned to them. “It wasn’t you, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck looked up so fast his neck clicked, and he grunted, reaching up to massage his neck. "Nice of you to _ finally _ believe me." Jaehyun swallowed but said nothing. "Tell me how you came to that conclusion, then."

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun said weakly. “I really am sorry. I should have believed you and trusted you, and I shouldn’t have hit you. I know I was in the wrong, and I hurt you badly...I shouldn’t have let my anger take control, and now you’ve ended up in the hospital because of me.”

“Because of you?” Donghyuck couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that escaped from his mouth. “No, hyung, I’m here because of my own stupidity! That punch you gave me did hurt, but don’t give yourself so much credit, it wasn’t that bad.” Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile at that, the tips of his ears going red from embarrassment. “You might need to train a bit more before you can do that. Go with Johnny hyung to the gym sometimes, he’ll be able to help.”

“Hyuck, I...I really am sorry,” he began, kneeling down next to the chair. “I know we all made mistakes, but I shouldn’t have let my anger take control.” He reached out, gently tracing the bruise on Donghyuck’s face made by his own hands. “This probably isn’t the solution, but if it makes you feel any better, you could give me the same. And I’d take it, just like you did, except I know I deserve it.” Donghyuck bit back a smile at that, but he shook his head, taking Jaehyun’s hand away from his face. 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes. “Guess I deserved that one.” He sobered up a little more. “This probably isn’t the solution, but if it makes you feel any better, you could give me the same. And I’d take it too, just like you did, except I know I genuinely deserve it.” Donghyuck bit back a smile at that but he shook his head. Jaehyun cleared his throat. “As to your other question...it was one of Yeri’s relatives. She called her mother to tell her about us, and her mother got a little excited. Spread the word to her aunt, who probably told more people, and that was it.” Jaehyun shrugged. “All over Naver.”

“Right.” Donghyuck nodded, unsure of what else to say. 

“And I broke up with her.”

“What?!” Jaemin stared at Jaehyun. “After all that, you just broke up with her? Left her there to deal with the fallout by herself?”

“She lied to me,” Jaehyun said, shrugging. “She swore she didn’t tell anybody, and I believed her over you, Donghyuck. Because of me, our whole group got torn apart, and in the end it wasn’t even you." Jaehyun hesitated for a moment before he stood up, sitting down on the edge of Donghyuck's bed. "I hope you can forgive me."

Donghyuck sighed, throwing his head back into the pillows. “I...I’m angry, hyung. And I don’t want to be angry. But...it hurt.” He looked back at Jaehyun, blinking back hot tears. “You hit me. Nobody’s ever hit me before, not the way you did.” Jaemin patted his shoulder gently, soothing his friend. “But...hyung. Tell me how...tell me how I can stop being angry at you.”

Jaehyun took in a shuddering breath, and for the first time, Donghyuck noticed how much Jaehyun himself was hurting. “I’ve never regretted anything more in my entire life,” he whispered, trying to speak past the lump in his throat. “But I...I don’t know how I can tell you stop being angry at me when I don’t know how to stop being angry at myself. I…” Jaehyun took his cap off and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “You’re my brother, Donghyuck! My little brother, one of my most precious friends, and I just smacked you like you meant nothing to me. So how can I accept your forgiveness when I can’t forgive myself for that?”

“Because you hurt me,” Donghyuck said simply. “But I…” he took a deep, shaky breath, trying not to show he was still hurting. “I’m willing to forgive you for it. So please? Don’t be angry at yourself.” Jaehyun smiled and leaned forward, holding out his arms. Donghyuck allowed himself to smile properly for the first time, and he finally let go of Jaemin to lean forward and grab onto Jaehyun. "Thank you, hyung." Jaehyun drew him into a hug, ignoring how despite it all, Donghyuck still flinched. Donghyuck himself forced himself to lean into Jaehyun’s touch, smiling as he forced down the sudden flare of anxiety that rose up in his gut.

“Now, before I get kicked out because of that doctor out there, mind telling me why you’re here?” Jaehyun asked as Donghyuck settled back into the bed, both of them wiping their eyes. “A few of the hyungs did mention that you were ill, but...I guess I didn’t pay attention.”

“My appendix has been swelling up for the last two weeks, and I decided to ignore it,” Donghyuck said, smiling bashfully. “I thought I could handle the pain.”

“I swear, the next time Renjun and I have to carry you home, I’ll make you clean the entire dorm from top to bottom by yourself and I’ll get Chenle and Jisung to make as much mess as they can. Don’t you dare do that to us again!”

“You can’t do that!” Donghyuck gasped, staring at Jaemin in faux-outrage. Jaemin smirked at him.

“Oh yes I can. Glitter, slime, paint, you just wait.”

Doyoung opened the door before Donghyuck could respond. “Are you done yet? Because Dr Kim will probably have an aneurysm if I don’t let him inside in the next three seconds.”

“Yeah. Come on, Jaemin.” Jaehyun and Jaemin left, and Donghyuck finally allowed himself to relax fully into the pillows as the doctor checked him over. He knew that the relationship between him and Jaehyun wasn’t the same as it was, but it would take time. He was just happy that Jaehyun finally believed him, but he wasn’t sure if it would ever be the same again.

*****

Jaehyun waited until Donghyuck was asleep again before he allowed himself to cry. Donghyuck had been discharged only a few hours after their talk, and now they were at the company with everyone there. Donghyuck was on the couch, resting after taking one of the painkillers prescribed to him by the doctor, and Jaehyun had refused to leave his side. Now, though, silent tears slid down his face as he looked at the young boy sleeping, and he wondered again how he’d had such a huge lapse in judgement.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jisung sat down next to Jaehyun, frowning in concern at his hyung, and Jaehyun shook his head quickly, wiping away his tears. “Hyung, not to brag, but I’ve become a sort of therapist for you all, so...tell Doctor Park all your problems,” he tried, grinning, and Jaehyun smiled through his tears. 

“It’s ok, Sungie, I’m fine.” He cleared his throat, looking again at Donghyuck before sighing. “I guess you have been a little support system, huh? You did better than we managed to do, anyway.”

“I mean...yeah, we have,” Jisung agreed, and Jaehyun smiled again, sighing. “The others are still mad at you, aren’t they?”

“Well, yeah. They have every right to be,” Jaehyun shrugged. “I can see the death glares that Chenle and Jungwoo are sending me.” Jisung followed his gaze, and Chenle quickly turned away to his conversation with Jaemin, though Jungwoo’s eyes lingered on them. 

“You should really talk to them,” Jisung said, and Jaehyun nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s why we’re here. Seunghyun hyung called the meeting, so I guess he’ll let us know what’s going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if I get put on hiatus, or kicked out…” Jaehyun’s eyes filled with tears again, and this time he couldn’t quite get himself back under control. Jisung hesitated for a moment before he put his arm around Jaehyun, and the older boy sobbed quietly, his shoulders shaking. “I’m sorry,” he sniffled, and Jisung shook his head, handing Jaehyun a tissue.

“It’s fine.” He waited for Jaehyun to gather himself again. “I’m sure that won’t happen, we’ll fight for you.”

“Really?” Jaehyun asked doubtfully. “Everyone hates me right now.”

“Jae, nobody hates you,” Yuta sat down next to him, bumping Jaehyun with his shoulder. “Jisung was the one who found Donghyuck first, did you know that?” he asked, and Jaehyun nodded. “Yet, out of everyone, he approached you first. He trusts you. He knows you were wrong, and  _ you _ know you were wrong, and he still came to see you because he cares about you.” Jisung nodded vigorously as Yuta spoke, smiling encouragingly at Jaehyun. “And Mark told me that you and Hyuck spoke this morning, right? And he said Donghyuck forgave you.”

“Yeah, but…” Jaehyun sighed in frustration. “He’s still scared of me,” Jaehyun admitted. “And that’s why I can’t forgive myself. We talked it out, which we should’ve done yesterday before I...you know. But when I gave him a hug, I could feel him being scared. He was shaking in my arms, hyung, and I can’t forgive myself for doing that to him. What kind of monster am I? What kind of hyung am I, where my younger brothers are scared of me, because I’m violent?”

“You’re not violent,” Yuta said firmly. “You lost control, and that’s it! We’ve been through this.”

“I don’t think Haechan hyung is scared of you,” Jisung said finally. “I think it’s just worry that something like this will happen again, not necessarily him being afraid of you. I mean, if I was him, I’d be scared too. But it doesn’t also mean that he didn’t forgive you. He loves you, hyung, he looks up to you so much.” Jaehyun smiled, wiping his eyes again and clearing his throat. 

“Thanks, guys.” He swallowed nervously as Seunghyun entered the room, and immediately everyone stopped talking, sitting up to attention and waiting for their manager to speak. 

“Afternoon.” Seunghyun leaned against the table, sighing, and for the first time, everyone saw just how ragged he looked. “Let me get straight down to business, since I can see the tension in the room,” he began, looking around. “Firstly, as for Manager Yoojin, he’s been permanently fired from working here and by the end of the day, he’ll be blacklisted by every entertainment company in the country.” Jaehyun sagged in relief, and looking around, he saw Taeyong and a few others relax, too. “Secondly, Jaehyun.” Jaehyun sat up straight again, swallowing down his fear as Seunghyun stared right at him. “What’s going on with you and your girlfriend? I didn’t quite manage to find their manager today, so…”

“We broke up,” Jaehyun said, trying to ignore the gasps that filtered out from the members. He cleared his throat again and stood up. “I decided to stop being selfish and put my team first. It was a mutual decision, though, Yeri decided the same thing. Red Velvet need her more than I do, and she needs them more than me. Plus…” he hesitated. “Plus, it caused me to hurt my brothers, and I can’t let that happen again.” 

Seunghyun nodded, seemingly in approval. “Good. Next time, you know the drill. You talk to us before anything, ok?” Jaehyun nodded, hanging his head. “Now, Yoojin was supposed to talk to the reporters, but seeing as he hasn’t, I will. Good job you’ve broken up, it’s a lot easier to spin it as a false rumour now.” 

“Thank you, hyung.”

Seunghyun nodded. “Unfortunately, I do have to put you on a hiatus for the time being.”

“What?!” Taeyong cried, jumping to his feet. “Hyung, please! We need a full team-”

“I’m sorry, Taeyong, but looking at what went on yesterday, I don’t have a choice,” Seunghyun said, and as the members looked at him, they could see the genuine hurt on his face. “Trust me, I don’t want to do this, either, but we’re going to have to investigate-”

“Then don’t.” Donghyuck sat up, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He still looked exhausted, and the bruises on his face stuck out more than ever, but he spoke up loudly, making sure he could be heard. “Don’t put Jaehyun hyung on hiatus.”

“Haechan, I know you mean well, but you can’t just walk around with those bruises on your faces,” Seunghyun said patiently. “As per company policy, we have to conduct a formal investigation into how you got them.”

“You already know how I got them. It was Manager Yoojin.”

“Hyuck-”

“It was Manager Yoojin,” Donghyuck repeated firmly, holding up a hand to stop Jaehyun from interrupting. “He lost his temper over a minor thing and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” 

He stood up, walking slowly towards Seunghyun, holding a hand over his stitches. “Haechan, you know we need witnesses-”

“And you have them.” He gestured to the members sitting around the room. “Everyone was there when it happened, right? You all saw how Manager Yoojin hit me, didn’t you?”

“Haechan, please-”

“Hyung.” Donghyuck took a deep breath and turned around, facing Doyoung. “I know you were all angry, just like I was. But if I’ve been able to forgive Jaehyun hyung, why haven’t you? It was an honest mistake, ok? I promise. So please, manager hyung, please don’t put Jaehyun hyung on hiatus!” Donghyuck started to get to his knees, then groaned painfully and thought against it. 

Seunghyun gave a long suffering sigh and reached out to steady Donghyuck. “There’s no need to beg, Haechan,” he said, though he did look amused. “Jaehyun, what do you think?”

“I think I deserve to be punished,” he said quietly, and this time, Jisung jumped up. 

“Hyung forgave Jaehyun hyung,” he said firmly. “And honestly, we all should. He hurt Haechan hyung most, and if he can forgive Jaehyun hyung, then we can. Therefore I agree with Haechan hyung that Jaehyun hyung shouldn’t go on hiatus.” He looked around expectantly, looking a lot older than his eighteen years, and Donghyuck smiled, feeling a sense of pride swelling up in his chest at the maknae. “Hyungs, please!”

One by one, the members stood up, and looking around, Donghyuck could see the genuine forgiveness in their eyes as they looked at Jaehyun, who still sat with his head down. Seunghyun tried and failed to hide his smile as he looked around at them. “Fine,” he said, grinning. “It was Yoojin hyung, and I have at least four witnesses, right?”

“Yes,” Taeyong said, smiling genuinely at him. “You’ve got all of us if you need us.”

“In that case, it was Manager Yoojin,” Seunghyun replied, and Donghyuck sagged in relief before he hugged the manager. 

“I knew there was a reason you’re our favourite manager, hyung,” he teased, and Seunghyun laughed, gently squeezing Donghyuck’s shoulder. 

“Don’t get too cheeky now,” he warned jokingly. “Ok. Well, I’ll take my leave now. Get plenty of rest, Haechan, ok? Go and sit down, don’t even think about joining the practice! I’ll be back in a bit to check up on you all,” he said. “Keep an eye on Haechan,” he added to Taeyong.

As soon as he was gone, Jaehyun stood up, wiping fresh tears from his eyes as he came to hug Donghyuck. “You’re an angel, Haechannie,” he said, and this time, he was glad that Donghyuck no longer shook in fear as he hugged Jaehyun back. Donghyuck grinned over his shoulder at everyone else, and soon the two of them were enveloped in a group hug. 

One by one, the group dispersed, and Donghyuck made his way back to the couch, waving away apologies and accepting hugs from all the hyungs and promising Jaemin and Jeno that he’d come by the Dream dorm for dinner, since he owed them a day. Smiling, he sat back and watched everyone start practicing, and this time, he was truly happy. He knew now that what he’d thought the previous day was wrong. They truly were a team, and nothing could come between them. 

**Author's Note:**

> And it's done!
> 
> I wasn't that satisfied with the ending, I'll be honest, but I hope everyone enjoyed it! I spent so much time cutting scenes and re-writing bits and editing, because every time I thought I had it down, I thought of something else to add in, which was fun! I hope you guys enjoyed this, this was the longest one-shot I've ever written and I can't believe it hahaha, but yeah, I hope it was satisfactory :D 
> 
> I love Jaehyun to bits I love him so much so please keep in mind that this is just a fic, it's completely fictional and in no way does it mean that this is how I see him in real life, because I don't. Jaehyun best boy 🥺🥺 And same goes for Yeri, literally the only reason I chose her is because she's someone I've written about before (Stolen Light), I do also appreciate and love her a lot, and in no way is her portrayal here a reflection of real life 🥺🥺
> 
> With that said, please leave some kudos/comments, they motivate me to write and improve myself!
> 
> Also, I have now opened my writing commissions! All of the information is on my pinned tweet (@bmtiddies), so if you're interested, please go ahead and check it out, it'll mean the world to me if you do! 💖💕💗💞


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